Fin24 reports that mining companies facing class action from mine workers who contracted silicosis on SA’s gold mines remain hopeful that there will be an out of court settlement.
Graham Briggs, former Harmony CEO and chairperson of the Mining Industry Working Group on Occupational Lung Disease (MIWGOLD), said on the sidelines of the 2017 Mining Indaba that there was good collaboration among stakeholders in the industry, labour and government to find a speedy solution. “I’m optimistic, although we don’t have a solution on the table yet,” Briggs stated. In May last year, the South Gauteng High Court ruled in favour of mine workers who intend on launching a silicosis class action against Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, African Rainbow Minerals, Gold Fields, Sibanye Gold and Harmony Gold. The six producers have since come together to form the MIWGOLD. Briggs also said there was a problem separate to the class action suit in that the claimants still have not received payment from a compensation fund managed by the Department of Health.
- Read this report by Liesl Peyper in full at Fin24
- See too, Enough in kitty to pay gold mining silicosis victims, at Business Report
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page